Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum Join Line Up for CMA AWARDS on ABC

Eli Young Band, Brantley Gilbert, reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year Lady Antebellum and reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Blake Shelton join the performance lineup for "Country Music's Biggest Night(tm)." Tickets for the three-hour gala have sold out for the fourth year in a row.

New to the Vocal Group of the Year category with their first CMA Awards nomination is the Eli Young Band. But it wasn't the only "first" associated with the group: Songwriters Will Hoge and Eric Paslay each received their first CMA Awards nomination for Song of the Year for writing "Even if It Breaks Your Heart," which was recorded by the Eli Young Band. The song was the first No. 1 for Hoge, who is a solo artist in his own right. Paslay also has a blossoming solo career and has penned songs for Lady Antebellum, Jake Owen and Love and Theft.

Gilbert received his first CMA Awards nomination in the New Artist of the Year category in 2012 and will be making his first CMA Awards performance on the three-hour gala. Artists can only be included in this category two times.

Lady Antebellum, the reigning Vocal Group of the Year for the past three consecutive years, is nominated in that category again in 2012. The group is also nominated for Album of the Year for "Own the Night," which the group produced with Paul Worley, making them eligible to receive a second trophy for producing the nominated record.

Shelton received four CMA Awards nominations, including a shared nomination for Song of the Year for "Over You" with wife Lambert. Only a handful of married couples have penned Song of the Year nominees, including "Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" by Ed and Patsy Bruce (1978), and two songs by Sanger D. "Whitey" Shafer -- "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" with his third wife, Darlene Shafer, in 1985, and "All My Ex's Live in Texas" with his fourth wife, Lydia Shafer, in 1987. Tammy Wynette and George Richey wrote "'Til I Can Make It on My Own" with Billy Sherrill, which was nominated for Song of the Year in 1976, but they did not marry until 1978.

Winners of "The 46th Annual CMA Awards" will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Monday, Oct. 22 (5:00 p.m., CT).

Full 2012 CMA Awards details, including nominations and performers are available at CMAawards.com, which also includes CMA Awards history, a searchable database of past CMA Awards nominees and winners, host information, merchandise and much more. The CMA Awards Store has T-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, tote bags and more official merchandise for fans to purchase online. Fans can connect with CMA online at Facebook.com/CMA, Twitter.com/CountryMusic (#CMAawards), YouTube.com/CountryMusicAssoc and Pinterest.com/CMAworld.

The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the 11,000 industry professional members of CMA, which was formed in 1958 as the first trade organization to promote an individual genre of music. The first "CMA Awards Banquet and Show" was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on NBC television for the first time - making it the longest-running annual music awards program on network television. The Awards aired on NBC through 1971 and on the CBS Television Network from 1972 through 2005. The CMA Awards moved to ABC in 2006, where it will remain through 2021.

"The 46th Annual CMA Awards" is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer, Paul Miller is the director and David Wild is the writer. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Chevrolet(tm) is the Official Ride of Country Music. American Airlines is the Official Airline of the CMA Awards.